Inner Demons: the Adventure in Tomorrow
by iSqueakers
Summary: Second of the CBTS series. Just because a demon is gone doesn't mean their magic is, and the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom will learn that the hard way. When their friends and kin are involved, it is up to two well-known heroes and two "evil" geniuses to set things right. However, the only way to "set things right" is to travel 25 years into the future.
1. Something Fishy

**A/N: This is the second story of the CBTS series. I highly recommend reading the prequel, ****_Calm Before the Storm,_**** before proceeding on with this story; because this is the second story of the series, it will include several references to the first. **

**Anyway, with that aside, let's continue on.**

* * *

**Calm Before the Storm 2:**

**Inner Demons: the Adventure in Tomorrow**

* * *

**Part I: Something's Weird**

* * *

**Chapter I**

* * *

Time: 4:41pm, Thursday, November 7, 2002—Kastle Koopa

**Iggy POV**

It has been a year since the world-saving adventure happened, and that year period had several ups and downs involving my family. Let me explain how my siblings and I have been faring for the past year:

Ludwig is still working with E. Gadd, and the two of them have invented nifty gadgets. In January, the two came out with a jetpack that allows the user to fly upwards to thousands of feet! However, due to pressure differences high in the atmosphere, as well as the lack of oxygen, the two have not released the jetpacks publicly. In September, the two decided to take a break for two months while E. Gadd journeys to some haunted house Luigi went to a few months before the Jabrael issue. Due to the break, Ludwig is spending the two months at Kastle Koopa.

Lemmy returned home from the University of Ice Land for the Fall Semester, and is instead doing his schoolwork online. The second-oldest Koopaling is back home due to the financial cost of either dorming or renting an apartment to be too much, even for the son of King Dad. It is still unknown whether Lemmy will accept or decline the royal Koopa throne King Dad made to him after Ludwig rejected it.

Roy graduated from high school the past summer, and is currently going to the University of Dark Land. He is not playing football or any other sport for the school due to him tearing a ligament in his shoulder a few months back. Rather, he's taking four classes as well as three sessions of physical therapy a week.

I am now a senior in high school, but unlike the high school senior schedules Roy and Lemmy had, I have a full schedule that involves several Advanced Placement classes, just like Ludwig's senior year schedule. I don't have much free time, but when I do have a moment to spare, I continue making the weirdest, most random potions. Who knows; one of these days, a potion I make may cure even the incurable!

Wendy has been excited this whole year since she will now be a junior rather than being the Freshmeat or the Squashmore of the school. Her grades improved tremendously over the past year; from a straight C student to more like a straight A- student. Her time is now more dedicated to homework and study rather than looking at herself in the mirror. This includes the morningtime; Wendy now chooses to sleep in rather than waking up and getting ready. The female koopaling also is starting to grow out her hair; pink, wavy hair now reaches to her shoulders.

Just like Wendy, Morton is also glad to be a high school junior. He, unlike some of my other siblings, haven't changed much in appearance nor did he change his interests. One main thing changed; much like Wendy used to, he hangs out with his friends much more than he does with us these days. Most of the time, he considers the rest of us to be burdens rather than fulfilling. Morton purposely does homework at school so he can spend more time out with his friends and less time at home.

Out of us Koopalings, it is Larry, rather than the rest of us, that constantly slacks off in school, ditches several of his classes and hangs out with 'other rule breakers'. Just like Morton, Larry isn't home much; he is there only to water his plants, finish packets for the multiple classes he failed, as well as to eat. Otherwise, he's out there doing... Who knows what. He still seems to be fond of evil and rule-breaking; in fact, through the year, it increased to the point where even King Dad is concerned.

Bowser Junior has started third grade, where cursive is one of the main things taught. Since the younger sibling of mine apparently never heard of 'paper', Junior will always 'practice' his cursive using the walls in the bathroom, his room and the hallway. King Dad, Queen Mom and even the rest of us spent hundreds of coins worth of cleaning products JUST to get the cursive off the wall. That brat is so annoying; he always gets his way!

Well, she's not a sibling, but Violent is still living here due to her school and stuff, so she mind as well be discussed. She's been keeping to herself lately, as well as also venturing out everyday. Even if I've known her for a year, she is still mysterious to me.

Last but not least, there's King Dad and Queen Mom. Dad has given up his evil ways, but still kidnaps Peach just for the sake of old times. Rather than spending hours a day in his conference room going over kidnapping plans, he spends more time with Mom and six of his eight children; six of us that actually do more in the house than sleep, eat and take a shower.

This time, however, Dad isn't with us at all; rather, we all are doing our separate things on this marvelous afternoon. Here, in my lab, is where the bizarre events have their starts.

"Now! I just need 150 milliliters of scorpion venom," I instructed to myself, walking over to a giant, thick-walled metal safe. I punch in a code on the safe, scan my hand and lastly my eyes before the safe opens, exposing about a gallon and a half of the valuable liquid. Just that amount costs somewhere near fifty million coins, and the amount I need just for this potion costs about a million and a half. I definitely won't need to worry about money if my idea for this potion succeeds, however.

I wipe my hands off my lab coat, making sure they aren't sweaty before I open up the container. With care, I dip in a graduated cylinder and measure out the appropriate amount, dumping the excess back into the container. Putting the lid back on and closing the heavy door of the safe, I venture back to my creation: a potential cure for any mental condition!

_'I would need this the most according to my siblings,' _I laughed to myself, but then I shake my head, _'nah; being crazy is fun.'_

Looking down at my notes after my joking thought, I begin checking off the ingredients I am testing in my head: a gram of lithium chloride—check; seventy micrograms of penfluridol—check; two milligrams of alprazolam—check; ten milligrams of menthol for taste—check; now 150 milliliters of scorpion venom—check.

I pour in the venom, providing the liquid aspect for the otherwise solid, powdery and waxy substances. As everything dissolves the way I desire, I pour the prized liquid into a vial, hoping to test it on one of my lab rats as soon as the physical effects of another failure-of-a-potion wears off them.

"I'm bored now, I'm out of great ideas, and I can't make any duplicate potions in case it fails. I wonder what my _siblings_ are up to," I wondered to myself, adding emphasis on the word _sibling;_ none of them are as close to me as they used to over a year ago, nor are we close to each other.

Taking off my lab coat, shutting off the lights and locking my door for security, I take a right, walk down the stairs and take a left. A few paces later, I stumble upon the family room, where Larry seems to be waiting for me.

"Hello there tree-breaker!" Larry 'greeted' me, "Are you ready for your daily slave work?"

I roll my eyes at my blue-haired brother; not only is he pure ridiculous, but he apparently doesn't know that a year consists of 365 days and an uncalculated 6 hours, "Larry. Give me a break. I've been doing this crap for you for a year! My term ended weeks ago!"

Larry sniggered at my explanation; apparently he didn't take in an ounce of what I just announced to him. All he is interested in is his selfish deeds, "That's not what the court said, Iggs."

_Yep, there's Larry for you._ _Thank you and good night._

"The court said a year starting on October 21. My end date was three weeks ago, now stop bothering me! By the way, Larry–"

"Quit talking to me, loser!" Larry flamed, eventually rushing out of the room.

I glare at the back of Larry's shell, just wishing lasers could come out my pupils, be intensified by my glasses and set fire to his shell. Seriously, what's gotten into that kid the past year? He was never this crazy back when he was in middle school!

Pissed, yet exhausted at the same time, I walk back up the stairs and journey to Lemmy's room to see what my 'twin' is up to. I clench my claws into a fist, preparing to pound on his blue metal-plated wood door, but it opens up before I am able to. I am caught in the awkward situation of nearly pounding my older, yet shorter sibling.

"Oh, hey Iggy..." Lemmy stated in a bored tone. Just like Larry, Lemmy's relationship to me seems to have gone sour for the past few months. I have no idea why, other than the fact that I spend nearly all my available time in my lab, "I don't feel that well now. Come back at a different time."

"Hey Lemmy. Mind if I just talk for a second?" I stuttered for a bit, afraid of what my 'inseparable twin' will do to me. Confirming my fears, Lemmy shakes his head, steps back into his room and slams the door in my face.

_'Okay, seriously! Am I in a sort of dream?' _I whisper to myself, pinching my arm with my sharp claws; the pain of both the pinch and the ache of reality become relevant to me. This is not a fantasy world or a nightmare—this is reality; this is for real.

* * *

**Bowser POV**

"DINNER!"

At the sound of the word, several different sounds of pounding echo throughout the second story of the castle. Clawdia takes out two dozen rolls from the oven as I seat myself at the head of the table.

Ludwig is the first kid of mine to step into the room. Since I have no official Crown Prince of Dark Land, Ludwig seats himself on my right side specially reserved for the Crown.

"Hello Fazzer," Ludwig greeted me. I automatically assume the reason my eldest child has acknowledged me; I will now try to prove myself to be right.

"Hey Ludwig. Are you trying to beg for something?"

"Nope. Just greeting you. Is zat a punishable crime? Greeting my own fazzer?"

Oh. Okay, so apparently Ludwig doesn't want something from me; I guess it's mainly for Wendy, "Oh-"

"You zought I vanted zomezing, did you not?"

_Annnnnnd he caught me red-handed._

"I knew it," he muttered as Roy, Wendy, Lemmy, Junior, Iggy and Violent walk into the room. I let out a disappointed sigh; no Larry or Morton yet again... Those two were here just a half hour ago... The nerve of those two, thinking their friends are more important than their family members.

"Okay!" Clawdia announced to the group, placing a basket of buttered rolls, succulent meatloaf, fluffy mashed potatoes and yucky broccoli down on the table, "I have some rolls, my special meatloaf, mashed potatoes and broccoli! Everyone is required to eat five pieces of broccoli before they can leave this table!"

Great; just great. I, the King of Dark Land, am being held hostage by my own WIFE at my own DINING TABLE. I let out another grunt of disappoint, as did my kids.

"Now," Clawdia cheered, not taking notice that two of our sons are not present as she dishes up a piece of meatloaf, a spoonful of potatoes, five broccoli pieces and two rolls, then seats herself on the left side of me, "Let's dish up our food!"

I dish up my food after Clawdia, plopping down three slices of meatloaf, two spoonfuls of potatoes and a roll on my plate. I decide to pass the broccoli over to Ludwig without grabbing five pieces for myself, but Clawdia gives me a glare.

"Bowser..."

Drat! She caught me! I reluctantly take five pieces of the repulsive broccoli from the bowl then pass it off to Ludwig. Clawdia smiles at me again and continues eating. Remind me to tell Ludwig to delete every recipe consisting of 'broccoli' from our electronic cookbook, as well as him renaming the vegetable to 'puketable'.

"So..." I tried to start a conversation, but I look over; Wendy, Roy, Violent and Lemmy are engrossed in a conversation while Junior is playing with his food. Ludwig looks bored and Iggy looks depressed.

"... Iggy?"

* * *

**Iggy POV**

I look over at Wendy, Roy, Violent and Lemmy. Not only is Lemmy acting like he isn't sick, but he's communicating with ROY and WENDY! When does this ever happen at the dinner table?

"... Iggy?" King dad calls out to me. I snap out of my thoughts and look up at him. Rather than seeing a scowl on his face, my father expresses a confused look.

"Yeah?"

"Umm... It looks like you want to talk about something."

Indeed I do have numerous things going on in my life; my schooling, the newest scientific discoveries of the year, my potentially powerful antipsychotic potion. Then there's my thoughts, confused as me on why Roy, Wendy and Lemmy seem fishy... Rather than explaining any of those concepts, I look back at my food and shake my head; nobody needs to know my life right now. "No."

"Okay then."

Roy, Lemmy, Violent and Wendy eventually quiet down, and the four of them scarf down their food, put their plates in the sink and dash off towards the living room. Repeating their actions, I follow them, but also keeping myself hidden behind one of the walls near the room just in case. I can hear Wendy's voice being broadcasted from the room, "So... We should wait for Larry and Morton to come back."

"And we will shock this whole place!" Roy announced. However, rather in his typical slang accent, he says the phrase in an actual proper matter; almost enough to be bone-chillingly cold.

"We will provide them the perfect gift!" Lemmy laughed. The other three join in on his laughing.

I, however, didn't find it to be a laughing matter at all. I sprint back upstairs, into my lab and lock the door like a madman. After I lock the door, I sit down on the floor in the fetal position, winded and gasping for air. My thoughts in my head are moving as swift as the air from my lungs.

Either I am overreacting, my siblings are throwing some sort of surprise birthday party for Ludwig in three weeks, or, simply...

My siblings are up to something, and it is up to me to find out.


	2. Realization

**.**

* * *

**Chapter II**

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Time: 8:28pm, Thursday, November 7, 2002 – Mario's House

**Mario POV**

Daisy is here in the Mushroom Kingdom visiting Peach from Sarasaland; because of that, Luigi is once again staying with me. I don't have any problems with that—in fact, it's just like old times—but it is strange that neither of the two princesses are… well, inviting us for a double date or whatever.

"Bro, is it weird that Peach and Daisy's been at the mall for ten hours?"

I shake my head, "No Luigi… I'm not surprised anyway. I just hope Bowser-a doesn't get them again…"

"I know it's Bowser bro… But I'm sure he knows not to kidnap her while she's having fun… And why would he kidnap Daisy?"

_Well, duh… _"Same reason he kidnaps Peach, perhaps…?"

"Yeah, I guess that's true…"

Silence falls upon us for a few minutes. Despite us being brothers and the two of us living together just a year ago, I can sense Luigi is feeling awkward in his used-to-be home. Trying to ease the feeling in the room, I start up a conversation.

"Did you watch Season Four of Mighty Plumber? I have the DVDs but I haven't watched them yet."

Luigi shakes his head, makes his way to my crimson couch, then begins to make himself comfortable on it, "No! They don't sell Mighty Plumber DVDs in Sarasaland! It's something to do with the conflict between Sarasaland and the Real World. I tried to go to the Real World Internet to order them, but Plit's been isolated from Earth from the Great Pop-up Period ending last year!"

Sarasaland has a conflict with the real world? Is it because the industrialized country of China 'stole' the traditions of the kingdom of Chai? Or people fawning over ancient Egyptian history that branched off from Birabuto? I mean, I'm not a ruler of a kingdom, but I wouldn't ban any real world things; business might go sour! Even if we are isolated from the Real World now, warp pipe experts are working on a teleportation path between Earth and Plit to bring back the Great Pop-up Period; business and tourism can be boosted from that!

Ahh, yes, the Great Pop-up Period; a time period that lasted between 1971 and 2001. That period was when the Earth's Sun entered an area containing some of Plit's magic, which caused warp pipes to pop up all over Earth. Our parents used the pipes in 1971 to protect us from the evil of Kamek; we used the pipes when we returned back to the Mushroom Kingdom in 1985, as well as multiple vacations during the 1990s. The period ended less than a year ago, in December 2001, but as I said, experts are trying to connect Earth to Plit once again.

"So we have to go to the Mushroom Kingdom if we want real world items," Luigi continued, "Or whatever's left of them as the Pop-up Period ended."

Despite my rejection of the whole 'phase out the Real World' behavior of Sarasaland, I nod my head at the explanation as I grab the remote and start up an episode of Mighty Plumber without another muttered word.

* * *

**Iggy POV**

I'm still not getting terrific vibes from my siblings. For some reason, both Wendy and Roy are being unusually nice to me, while Lemmy is avoiding me as best as he can. Larry is still bossing me around and I haven't seen Morton in days.

"Hey Iggy!" Wendy shouted, running up to me and giving me a hug, "How are you brother?"

Okay, not only is Wendy being nice to me, but she is _hugging me! _It's conclusive; my siblings are freaks! Freaks from a different planet maybe! Maybe it's the Shroobs or Smithy or something! It's anything but my natural biological siblings!

"Iggy? What's wrong?" Wendy questioned, then gives me a pouty face like a little kid being declined something they want, "You can always tell me!"

"Of course there's something wrong! THIS ISN'T NATURAL! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

I dash away from my sister. In a way, I feel bad for doing that, but unless she went through a giant behavior change, this is NOT Wendy! As I sprint from Wendy, I realize that there is still a sibling I can trust completely, and I need to go to his room as quick as I can.

_Ludwig. Ludwig's room. I'll check in sometime tomorrow._

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**Luigi POV**

We only watched about two episodes of Mighty Plumber when both of us decided, without permission from the princesses, to wander towards Peach's Castle and to enter it. We are wondering whether the two been shopping for the whole eleven hours, or are doing some slumber party with each other. We just had to find out.

Mario and I make our way to the main gate to the castle's courtyard. Unlike usual, there are no gate guards standing, allowing us to enter in ease.

"That's weird Luigi…" Mario informed me, "There are always guards here, even when Bowser… got 'less' evil."

Although I move my head up and down to nod, my mind is running in every which direction. Several unorganized theories form in my head like a super computer gone haywire, causing questions such as _'Did an enemy outside the Mushroom Continent kidnap them?' _and _'Did they simply run away from their power-filled lives?' _to materialize. I focus my attention back to Mario, who seems to be in a stance similar as mine.

"B-but… This never happens!" my elder brother cried.

"What are we gonna do?"

"I would call the mall, but there's too many stores there. My theory is that Bowser kidnapped them, or some other villain. Let's call Bowser and demand both of them back. I know he's Bowser at all, but he needs to let them vacation."

"Well, okay…" I reluctantly stated. We don't know whether they're missing or not; we haven't even checked the castle for crying out loud! Despite this fact, Mario drags me back to his house.

* * *

Time: 10:15am, Friday, November 8, 2002 - Bowser's Castle

**Ludwig POV**

_"Hey there fatty," Violent sang out to me. I then see her, Wendy and Lemmy tackle me from behind and pin me to the ground. I muster all my strength to prevent such a happening, but I was still overcome by the three surprisingly strong characters. Roy walks up to me, pulls out a long, thick rope and ties both my hands and legs with it._

_"Vhy are you doing zis? Vhat have I done to you all?" I cry out, expecting an answer from my traitorous siblings and friend. There must be a reason for all this; it's not like them to act like this without a specific reason. Okay, scratch that; it's not normal for them at all, unless it's one of Father's targets._

_"Because we can! And we will!" Roy spat back at me before throwing a gag over my mouth. As I lay there, body bound and mouth mumbling, the five of them then carry me up to their supposed ruler who was…_

_Both Larry and Morton?! This is an oligarchy?!_

_I try to mutter a few phrases out loud, but the gag stifles my words; all I can do at the two younger siblings of mine is glare daggers at them._

_"It is I, Ludwig," Larry gives me an evil smile as he sits on a throne by Morton._

_Why are they on the throne rather than Father? Not to mention a duo of thrones? There must be an explanation; did they murder him? Or did Father simply run away from my siblings? Has he gone mad with them? So many unanswered questions swarm my mind that I am unaware of a staff Morton points at me._

_"Now Kooky," Morton laughed in a sort of evil voice, referring to me as my blasted nickname, "You will join us… In the quest… For the WORLD!"_

I wake up abruptly from the odd and frightening encounter, with perspiration rolling down my forehead and face. I look around, catching sight of my familiar blue walls, grand piano and a table with my newly written symphony. Oh thank the Stars! It was just a dream; a rather simple, unreal illusion. Yet, unlike other dreams I've had, I still cannot shake it off. I know my siblings aren't committing murders or treasons, but they're certainly not perfect angels either; possessing neither of those two extremes opens up the evil-nice gradient, and they may be much, much more on the dark-gray side than I thought.

There must be something going on, and I need to share that with someone. With that being said, there's only one person whom I shall trust…

The ringing of the phone interrupts my train of thought. I get up from my bed, exit my room and gaze over towards a red cordless phone hanging on the wall outside my room. I pick up the vibrating, roaring telephone and answer it.

"Zis is Bowser's Castle! Ze vorld-famous Ludvig Von Koopa answering. How may I be of evil assistance?"

"Ludwig?" a voice that I recognized greeted me, "I'd never thought a Koopaling would be THAT professional!"

Mario's calling me? Oh great; even if we made up, it's not as if we're great friends or anything, "Yeah… Umm… Vhat do you guys vant?"

"Give back Peach and Daisy!" he angrily replied to my question. The command takes me aback for a few seconds before I answer back.

"Ve don't have zem. You must be mistaken."

"Are you serious? They've been at the mall for like a day now!" Mario freaked out, "I know they love shopping, but that's unnatural even for them!"

Unnatural? This isn't good at all! Maybe Peach and Daisy are going through the same thing my siblings are!

"Unnatural? Mario, Luigi! They may be having the same problem as my siblings! I need to meet you guys! Maybe at your house later tonight?"

It seems as if Mario and Luigi are reluctant to this offer, but I further persuade them.

"Zis is an important matter. Zis may be another journey! It's too sensitive to talk about over the phone though."

That seems to do it; Mario and Luigi accepted the offer I proposed. I will meet them at 6PM tonight to discuss these odd happenings. Maybe if we put our heads together, we might be able to solve this mysterious… mystery.

Until then, well… I should start on my next symphony.


	3. The Meeting

**.**

* * *

**Chapter III**

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Time: 1:52pm, Friday, November 8, 2002 - Bowser's Castle

**Iggy POV**

Not surprisingly, my siblings are still acting weird. Larry and Morton are still Stars-know-where, Wendy and Roy are being awfully nice to me—not that I hate that, but it's so unlike them. I tried inviting Lemmy to play video games, teach me to walk on a ball and to watch a movie, but he declined all three; it's still obvious that he's avoiding me as much as he can.

That leaves Ludwig; I have nothing against Ludwig. He doesn't raise suspicion in me; he's still his isolated, quiet-at-dinner, symphony-composing elder brother of mine, and I'm glad of that. That means Ludwig is the only one that I should trust; he hasn't changed at all.

I make my way towards Ludwig's room, gazing around at the hallway's crimson carpet, gray wallpapered walls and multiple statues of King Dad himself. I take a right at the turn of the hallway, stroll up to Ludwig's door, conveniently placed by another Bowser statue, and pounded on the door.

"Ludwig? Ludwiiig! We need to talk."

I quit my pounding right before Ludwig opens the door, wearing an unimpressed look on his face.

"You don't need to pound on my door zat much, Ignatius," Ludwig scolded me. I shudder at him using my full first name, despite me allowing him to since he's my eldest sibling, "Anyvay, come in. I have stuff to discuss vith you also."

I submit to the command of Ludwig, making my way into his room. I am greeted by a surprisingly clean room; there are no specks of discoloration on his blue walls, as well as his white carpet. I'm not much of a fan of this color scheme, but I must admit that either way, it fits Ludwig well.

"Vell Ignatius?" Ludwig sits on his bed, then signals me to follow suit. I make my way towards his bed, get on it and make myself comfortable. "Let's start vith you. Vhy are you here?"

"Well..." I fidget a little, "Have you... Well, noticed anything... Say, different about our siblings?"

Ludwig nods his head, "Zats exactly vhat I vas going to talk to you about! You see..."

Ludwig drifted off. I use my eyes to signal him to keep going on with his explanation, "Well?"

"You see... I had this dream... Everyvun except for you and Fazzer vere in it. It vas a dream vhere some kingdom—I assume Dark Land but I didn't know—is made up of an oligarchy... both Lawrence and Morton vere ze rulers. Zey vanted me to help zem take over ze world."

I scowl at Ludwig. If it was any of my siblings, I would brush off the dream like it was little more than a complete fantasy. Ludwig, however, has more sense than my sibling; hell, even more sense than me. Seeing him freak out over a mere dream fills me up with mixed emotions, specifically confusion and fear.

"Undt... Ze zeeblings... Zey Zuzeeded!" Ludwig shouted, his accent turning thicker—a result of intense fear. This fact unsettles me; if my elder brother shows some sort of anguish over this, then how can I simply brush this off? "Vat eef eet eez havvening?

"That's scary... But... what about it?"

"I organized a meeting vith Mario undt Luigi," Ludwig announced, his accent easing a bit as he calms down a bit, "According to zem, Peach undt Daisy have been unzeen for a day."

Peach and Daisy are gone too? Why did they disappear? I know they like to get away from royal duties, but they wouldn't be gone for THIS long without notifying Mario.

"That's weird. May I tag along?"

"I vas about to ask you, Ignatius," Ludwig nodded, his heavier accent completely gone, "Ve vill depart at 6PM. Meet me at ze hangar at 5:45PM; don't be late."

I nod my head, accepting the offer and making mental notes of the times. That means I have around three to four hours to see if I can find out anything useful...

I guess it'll be good if I bring along the antipsychotic potion I've concocted also; only the Stars know when I will need it, or if it will work, but it is still worth a shot.

* * *

**Luigi POV**

"So they are coming here?" I questioned. I look around at Mario's living room; trash is everywhere! Empty soda cans sit on the coffee table by the couch, little bags of potato chips accumulated around the couch and specks of grated cheese litter the kitchen floor. There is no way that guests, especially koopas, can see the house this way. I reckon that we should get this place cleaned and organized before Ludwig comes...

"Yeah," confirmed Mario, "I don't know why he's coming here, but he says it's something to do with Peach and Daisy. He also says the topic is too sensitive for over-the-phone conversation. Maybe he knows where they are or what they're doing."

"I don't know Mario," I rejected the theory, "He sounded sincere, for a koopa anyway. I doubt he even has an idea on where they're at, but you know what? Neither do we; maybe he will provide help. Like he said, we have to put our heads together."

Mario remains silent as he picks up the empty cans of soda and takes them to the kitchen. He sets them on the kitchen counter, pulls out a garbage bag containing other aluminum cans he recycles, and puts the cans into it. He then pulls out a broom, sweeps up the sliced cheese pieces into a dustpan and dumps the contents into the trash. Meanwhile, I pick up the potato chip wrappers from around the couch and throw those into the trash. Just the act of picking up the trash alone triggers a significant difference in the house; the red carpet is now visible all over the room and the house seems to be organized already; unopened books lay on multiple shelves, a pear cookie jar sits on the kitchen bar counter and a miniature Buddha statue, mainly for decoration and a hint of different cultures rather than religious meaning, rests on the coffee table. Mario marvels at the now-cleaned room and plops himself down on the couch, remote in hand.

"Let's continue our Mighty Plumber marathon until he comes."

* * *

**Ludwig POV**

Looking up at a brown handmade clock above my bed, I see the little hand slowly waltz away from the 5 and closer to the 6. As the big hand falls onto the little hand, marking about 5:27PM, I put a temporary halt to my symphony-in-construction, organize my desk a bit and exit my room. Just for good measure, I lock up my room; I don't want any 'siblings' using any equipment from my room to exercise their vile deeds.

I turn the knob to make sure the door is locked, pocket the key into my shell and venture towards the hangar, where I see Iggy discussing something with Kamek.

"So Ignatius," I hear Kamek say, "Whatever else do you ponder about? Anything... Say, strange?"

"Yes Kamek!" he exclaimed as I walk up to the group, doing a silent wave, "Lemmy and I used to be inseparable, but all he does is avoid me now. He won't even do his favorite things with me! Then there's Roy and Wendy, who are desperate to become my friends..."

"Aha! Sibling issues, eh Ignatius?" the wise magikoopa nodded his head, "Are you experiencing identical problems, Ludwig?"

"Affirmative. Mario and Luigi are also having issues vith Peach and Daisy; do you have any knowledge of vhy zis is happening?" I questioned, hoping the powerful magikoopa will know the answer. Unfortunately, Kamek shakes his head.

"I am still working on the details of this mysterious cause. Yes, I have noticed it too; I just wanted confirmation from the sources of others. All I can say is... They are not your siblings. I am still looking into WHY they replaced—or brainwashed, rather—your siblings, WHO they actually are or WHAT they plan to do, but I, as well as you guys, for sure know HOW they are not your siblings."

Iggy and I ponder over Kamek's explanation of the whole situation. It is true; we need to know those questions before any significant change can happen. Answering at least one of those unknown variables may uncover a lead for us, which we can use to find the perpetrator and rescue our real siblings this time. Maybe Mario and Luigi are having the same issues with Peach and Daisy; after all, according to Mario, they are nowhere to be seen.

"Zanks Kamek. We need to go to Mario's house to see the Mario Brothers. Would you mind researching a bit more on this... Say, encounter?"

Kamek shook his head, "No. I have nothing better to do, Master Ludwig, so I don't mind at all. I'll make sure to keep an eye on your supposed 'siblings', as well as your father. He's normal so far, but I want to keep him that way. I'll research in my books and on the Internet also."

I nod my head at Kamek's mini-acceptance speech, "Zanks Kamek."

"You are welcome, You're Inventiveness," the wise blue-robed magikoopa attempts to bow. He didn't go too far; probably the effect of an old, sore back, "I will give my findings to my most trusted student, just in case I will be out and about when you come back."

After his announcement, Kamek walks off. I venture towards the doorway of the hangar, press the button to open the giant garage on the hangar's front side, and flip on the lights. There, taking up the space in the hangar, are three giant doomships and the Klown Khopper. Thankfully, they belong to King Dad, Iggy and me, so we won't have to worry about my siblings sneaking off somewhere in the world; their doomships are still going through repairs at my and E. Gadd's shop. Even if they somehow board the doomships or Khopper, King Dad hid the keys to all three.

"Gee, Iggy," I reply when I felt his presence behind me, "Good zing you got grounded from doomship travel. If it vasn't for zat, our siblings would sneak off somevhere."

I can hear Iggy scoffing behind me, "Nininininini ooh look at me look at me! I'm Ludwig, the world's perfect child! Ninininininininininini I DON'T CARE."

After his childish rant, Iggy boards my doomship, in which I follow. Making myself comfortable in front of the wooden wheel, I turn the key to start the engine, resulting in a huge _roar_ that shook the ship a bit. I drive the ship until the confirmation that the doomship is no longer under the roof of the hangar is realized, and I immediately lift off from the ground, making my way towards the Mushroom Kingdom. Now let's see if I can remember his address; it's been a year since I've last been to Mario's house.

* * *

**Mario POV**

I'm not much of a neat freak, but I do like my house to be presentable for guests planning to come over; that is the reason why I hate surprise visitors. Not only do I not know they come, but they also get to see my house full of trash and other grotesque items laying around. Thankfully, Ludwig is not an example of that and called me instead. That's great, because if HE was a surprise visitor, he'd be in the ER healing with stitches and a concussion or two...

Luigi and I sit in anticipation, just hoping and wishing to the Stars that Ludwig has an idea of the situation involving Peach and Daisy. As we sit here and ponder about it, we found that it was better that the two were kidnapped rather than facing personal issues; as the fairytale stories suggest, man versus man conflict is typically much easier than man versus himself. Making himself more comfortable during the wait, Luigi plops his legs onto my coffee table; with remote in hand and the CHANNEL UP button under finger, Luigi flips through multiple news channels, sports channels and commercials before eventually landing on a infomercial about an automatically-adjusting universal wrench.

"This'll be useful on our plumbing missions bro," Luigi informed me. I nod as the merchant does a demonstration; he puts the wrench around a nut, presses a button and the wrench contracts until it fits snugly onto the nut. The merchant then twists the nut, causing the piece of metal to hit the ground with a soft, but audible _thud._

"That's amazing!" I cried out, "We should get one of those. But let's wait until this whole 'Princesses are missing' ordeal."

"Right."

All the sudden, the doorbells rings. I walk towards the door, peer out of the door's peephole and recognize two koopas: Ludwig and Iggy. _Strange,_ I muttered to myself, _I don't remember Ludwig mentioning Iggy. I thought he was coming alone._

I open the door and invited them in. Without a word of either recognition or gratitude, the two koopas sit down on the couch next to Luigi. As he relaxes in his seat a bit, Ludwig looks up at me and finally utters a greeting.

"Greetings Mario. Greetings Luigi. You two may be vondering vhy ve are meeting in zis confinement. You see... I zink Peach and Daisy are having similar problems as my siblings. At first, zese problems seemed to be only a sort of identity crisis, but it could be somezing much more serious."

_Serious? Like what?_

"Serious as in ze fate of ze vorld lies vithin our hands."

If an invention that can read minds existed, then Ludwig obviously doesn't need one; he has that skill honed.

"Zat statement may be a bit exaggerated, but zis is rather important. I have Kamek researching causes and effects of my siblings' behaviors, and if the princesses have the same issue as zem, zen zat vill be vun extra step forvard."

I ponder over Ludwig's explanation. However, rather than being informative and answering, the explanation of the intelligent koopa only summons up more questions, carelessly and endlessly swirling around in my head.

"But.. Who would do this?" I questioned, "And for why?"

Despite our location being indoors, a sudden wind kicks up, causing some loose papers from the bookshelf to fly around in a tornado-like column of air forming in front of us. A woman, who looks to be in her late 40s or early 50s, appears in the column of wind and steps out of it. The woman is wearing a dress similar to Peach and Daisy, except the dress is black-and-purple with a much more frilly bottom. The woman also has midnight-blue eyes, an extremely pale face and thin, black lipstick-covered lips.

"I did it," the woman informed us, "And I regret it. Not only do two of them have their own evil intentions now, but I can't even control them. I need the assistance of you four to prevent the world from being plunged in their evil."

Who is this? Who is this mysterious woman standing in front of us? Is this some sort of goddess, or is it a being we all should fear? Just like Ludwig, the woman seems to have read my thoughts.

"Long story short, I am the future version of one of your worst enemies. I am from 25 years from now, in the year 2027; by that year, I turned good... well, 'better', and became the Queen of the Underworld. I come here because there are giant crises that are occurring—well, will occur—in 2027, and the only way to get rid of it is to fight it in 2027 itself."

So she is from the future? And she is our... supposed, worst enemy? "Who are you?" I questioned, "I don't recall any women being our worst enemies; just guys like Bowser, Smithy and Wart."

"Ahh yes, Smithy and Wart," the woman smiled, "I remember those twerps from the deepest corner of the Underworld. I was sent there for twenty years for all the crimes I committed. Through the twenty years of literal hell, I ditched my evil habits and settled to be better. If only I submitted myself to that hell, it would have been only seven years. Anyway those two are annoying freaks."

The woman then smiles as she holds up a little staff. Ludwig looks at the staff in fear, while the rest of us stare at it in confusion.

"Oh, as to who am I?" the woman repeated my question, "As I said, I am the future version of your worst enemy; the future version of the one who caused this mess and the future version of the darkest evil."

The woman then hides the staff behind her back; immediately, I can see Ludwig relax much more. The woman then opens her mouth to utter seven words powerful enough to stun all of us:

"I am Jabrael, Queen of the Underworld."

* * *

**A/N: A cliffie! Don't hate me too much for it; Chapter 4 won't take too long. As for any questions you all can summon up at this moment, Chapter 4 will explain all (or at least most) of the confusion.**


	4. Explanation

**A/N: See? I told you it wouldn't be too long! Chapter 5 definitely won't be as quick of a chapter to upload, but it's getting there. **

* * *

**Chapter IV**

* * *

Time: 7:18pm, Friday, November 8, 2002 - Mario's Pad

**Iggy POV**

"JABRAEL?" all of us shouted in shock. I want to get up from the couch and run all the way to the Jewelry Kingdom, but I am too stunned to move. Why is she here, and why is she asking for help rather than to leave us alone and do her magic to stop it? After all, isn't this whole thing her fault in the first place? This is a 'crying over spilled milk' situation; milk that Jabrael herself spilled in her take-over-the-world carelessness.

"Yes, it is me," Jabrael smirked, yet the smile itself doesn't seem to be evil.

_Great, now Jabrael is nice, my siblings are strange and the princesses are weird. What the heck is going on here?_

"Jabrael. S-so you're good now..." Mario stuttered a bit. His eyes are wide; confused whether to believe the evil witch who possessed him has actually converted or not, "What do you want?"

"As I said," the queen repeated as she looks at Ludwig and me, "I possessed your siblings."

Aha! I knew something was wrong with them! I should have figured it was Jabrael behind all this!

However, Ludwig seems to have a questioning look on his face. He opens his mouth to speak, "How did you possess my brothers, sister and Violent? As well as Peach and Daisy?"

Jabrael fidgets, appearing to be a bit frightened about exposing her secrets. Knowing that this question is required, she lets us in on her secret, "You know, when you all went on that journey to defeat me 26 years ago—ahem, sorry, I forgot I'm in 2002. Anyway, that journey that was a year ago for you guys... There was a Group 1, Group 2 and a Group 3."

I nodded my head, "Yes, I was part of Group 3, as well as Luigi. Mario was in Group 1 and Ludwig was in Group 2. What do our groups have to do with anything?"

"Aha!" Jabrael smiled, staring into my eyes, "A member of Group 3, eh? Do you remember the potion you made for the Sages? The Sage Cure?"

All the sudden, a flashback comes to me. Daisy, Luigi, Lemmy and I are all looking at a book, reading the ingredients out loud. Still affected by this flashback, I mutter the ingredients out to Jabrael.

"6 ground chocolate bars, 500 milliliters of Sage Smoothie and 6 ground dullberry leaves. The Sage Smoothie has 3 strawberries, 1 banana, 1/2 a papaya, 6 dullberries and 1/2 cup of orange juice blended together," I mutter as if I am in a sort of trance. If a flashback is considered one, then yes, a definite trance.

Jabrael nods her head and questions, "Do you see anything wrong with that recipe? There are six chocolate bars, six dullberry leaves and six dullberries. Three pairs of sixes; it makes up the number 666!"

It suddenly dawned on me; the whole 666 business! The fishiness of the recipe itself and the hotel's room number flies back at me, haunting my every brain processes... I knew there was an issue with the Mark of the Devil, but I couldn't put my claw to it.

"The real recipe calls for 7 ground chocolate bars, 7 dullberry leaves and 7 dullberries, but I edited all three to six. Due to this action, the Sage Cure became cursed. Group 3 spread this curse to the Sages, and the Sages spread the evil to the characters who received their power! I did this so I would be immune when I took over Plit, but unfortunately for me back in 2001, the evils didn't kick in until at least a few days later."

Once again, I am smacked in the face by the evil Mark of the Devil. Because of ONE less chocolate bar, dullberry leaf and dullberry, the Sages turned evil. The Sages then spread out their power to Larry, Morton, Wendy, Roy, Lemmy, Violent, Peach and Daisy! It makes sense now!

I look around the room; Luigi also seems to have a look of surprise on his face, while Mario seems to be thinking. I look at Ludwig, however, and I sense a look of confusion on his green face.

"Okay, so my siblings and ze princess turned evil due to ze potion. However, vhy is Mario and Luigi not evil? Zey have been possessed by you in ze final battle!"

"Now this is where it all gets interesting. A character must be exposed to TWO different sources of my evil for ANY amount of time to be _completely_ possessed with evil. You see, all but two of your friends only became minions to evil; the other two became evil themselves. The characters possessed by me during the final battle have turned out completely fine because my evil was obvious to detect. However, the evil from the potion remains in the ones granted the Sage powers due to the evil hidden by good, and it will take at least a decade for them to turn out okay."

Okay, so wait. Those who got powers from the Sages will be minions of evil for ten years, the ones simply possessed by Jabrael in the final battle are good, and those exposed to two different evil sources will forever be evil basically? This is utterly confusing, but an important topic to cover nonetheless.

"The one with the blue Mohawk—Larry, you call him—has been turned completely evil because he was possessed by me AND by Nature's powers laced with evil. My possession of him actually counts, unlike the others, because my possession was the _second_ source of evil rather than the first. Does that make sense?"

We all nod at the explanation. Poor Larry; forever being evil, and poor us for having to deal with yet another episode.

"The other one, Morton, has also been turned evil, both by Molty's evil-laced power AND from that one time in the Sandstorm library."

"What time?" Luigi questioned, "W-we were there to learn more about you!"

"Of course you were—I didn't deny that now did I? Anyway, remember when Morton was swatting at that black gem? And when it fell down to the floor? That was a portal of mine; a portal in the shape of a jewel. When it hit the floor, pieces of the gem cut through Morton's scales and skin. The good news is that the jewel is dissolving even as we speak. However, the bad news is that as it dissolves, evil is released. The only way to stop this is to treat it before... about a week after it happens. It's obviously too late for that now."

All of us give Jabrael a confused look. She closes her eyes and let out a long sigh.

"Okay okay okay; now this is getting even more confusing, but I guess I can summon up the points real well: Larry and Morton were exposed to two evil sources, causing them to have their own evil intentions. Since the others still have the evil-disguised-as-good of the Sages in them, BUT not the powers themselves, they are following the two. Because they are only affected by one source of evil, which was disguised as good, rather than two, it will only last for about a decade. Lastly, since I possessed the others during the final battle, my evil is no longer in them."

So because the evil of the Sages are disguised as good, they aren't gone; I reckon that makes a bit of sense. Either way, we know for sure that Larry and Morton are at fault here, and we need to do whatever we can to stop the two.

"As I said earlier," Jabrael seems to have read my mind, "Larry and Morton can only be stopped in the year 2027. Before that year, they will be invincible, but it's 2027 when they do their most infamous move: exposing the secret to their defeat. That secret is the two somehow got ahold of an invention allowing them to time travel, and they screwed up the future. We need to stop them before they screw up the past!"

The rest of us exchange looks with each other; time travel? I thought there was no such thing. Even then, wouldn't the whole process unravel the fabrics of Time itself?

"Vhat about travelling in ze Past? To ze time before ze whole journey last year?"

"I cannot. You see, if we go back in time to the time period before I was plotting to take over Plit back in 2001, when the evil was exposed, then the Marios and the Koopas wouldn't even be allied. I CANNOT screw that up; the Marios cannot be archenemies with the Koopas any longer. The celebratory dinner timeframe will also be too late; unless we have a strong anti-evil potion—a potion with a secret ingredient found only in the future—then the dinner period won't help at all. This leaves only the option to travel to the future."

All of us nod at Jabrael's explanation, with apparently no further questions on the topic from us.

"Now everyone," Jabrael instructed, "Close your eyes; I will now teleport you two to the year 2027."

As I closed my eyes, I can feel myself being hoisted up, a strong breeze blowing on me and a random case of extreme itchiness. As soon as the whole process started, it ended. I was expecting a much more dramatic scene when time traveling but... That didn't happen.

I gradually open my eyes and I see that I am in Mario's house, except this wasn't the feel of his house at all; cobwebs litter the place, mold is growing on every piece of decaying furniture and multiple holes in the walls and roof are visible. I look at my own body, as well as at Ludwig, Mario and Luigi, but none of us exhibit even a year's worth of change, let alone a quarter of a century.

"You guys are kept the same since you time travelled into the future. You can either have the option to remain the same or go to your younger body when you travel in the PAST, but you can only remain the same if you travel into the FUTURE. You will not grow up or grow old in future travel," Jabrael smiled.

I look out one of the holes of the walls, and I see a blackish-green cloud taking up the whole sky, everyone wearing green-and-gray suits, and black flags with the symbol of a red star in the middle hoisted up on multiple flagpoles. All-in-all, this seems like a rather dystopia; a not-so-welcoming sight at all.

I feel a huge sense of despair looking at the ugly scene of the once-beautiful city of Toad Town. In the distance, I can see Peach's castle basically in ruins; the white-and-pink castle of 2002 converted into a crumbling yellow mass definitely not architecturally stable to live in of 2027. I look at Jabrael in fear, as do Mario, Luigi and Ludwig.

Jabrael, noticing the uncomfortable stares from us four, reluctantly mutters, cursing to herself for this whole ordeal. All the sudden, seven burly human men burst into the ruins of Mario's house and hold up futuristic guns at us. The futuristic guns look as if a television satellite was smashed into to a water gun tank and filled to the brink with something as bizarre as liquid electricity.

"You are commanded by Larimor Amendment 7 to go through the mind-control machine!" one of the men shouted. Five of the men then walk up to each of us and proceeds to puts on a shock collar and handcuffs. They now have Ludwig, Mario, Luigi, Jabrael and me in their possession.

"You will also be drained of any uniqueness and individuality according to Larimor Amendment 8!"

Larimor? They renamed Plit to Larimor? As we are carried away towards a weird building, Jabrael shakes her head at the whole situation.

"Welcome to 2027, where the world is ruled by King Lawrence Koopa I and King Morton Koopa II..."


	5. The Voyage

**.**

* * *

**Part II: The Ropes of 2027**

* * *

**Chapter V**

* * *

Time: Sometime in 2027 in futuristic Toad Town

After Mario, Luigi, Ludwig, Iggy and Jabrael are carried off by the tough guys, the guys carry them towards a strange building. Mario and Luigi immediately recognize the building as being the old house of Toad, Toadette and Toadsworth, also run-down like the Mario Pad. The building has a huge line, mostly consisting of little kids and families, leaking out of it.

"Wait in this line. Do not do anything funny, because we will be watching you," the guard instructed. Said guard then pulls out the futuristic gun and points it at the group, "Also, you need to read this. It has the Amendments of the Great Larimor Commandment listed on here."

The guard passes out five sheets, one to each character. Each character reads his or her sheet, which lists the Larimor Amendments:

**_Larimor Amendments:_**

**_Prelude: _**_The Larimor Empire is the world-conquering empire; our Empire passed this bill in 2007, also named the Great Larimor Commandment. The Elites of the Larimor Empire have the right to add amendments to this bill as time is seen. Amendments 1 and 2 were first passed under the name of "Monarch-Judicial-Respect Bill" before this bill was passed._

_The "pass" signifies when it became law, while the "ratified" signifies when the law has been posted as an amendment._

**_Amendment 1_**

_Passed: October 15, 2003; ratified October 15, 2007_

_Citizens must respect their officials, whether they are elected by the Elites themselves or by fellow citizens. Any blasphemy or unfair bias against elected officials, or negativity in general to the Elites, are not allowed within the perimeter of the Larimor Empire._

**_Amendment 2_**

_Passed: October 15, 2003; ratified November 15, 2007_

**_Section 1: _**_Respect for judges, jury or any judiciary members are required. Any intention to haggle or insult them will result in a felony crime._

**_Section 2: _**_All citizens must accept jury duty when asked. Any failure to show up will result in a misdemeanor crime. Jury rescheduling is always welcomed; to do that, citizens must contact their local courthouse._

**_Amendment 3_**

_Passed: December 17, 2004; ratified December 24, 2008_

_All physically and mentally able males aged 18 to 30, as well as females aged 21 to 25, must sign up for the Draft in the military. If Larimor suffers a civil war or an international war, then the Larimor Military will depend on Draftees._

**_Amendment 4_**

_Passed: June 21, 2010; ratified: June 21, 2012_

**_Section 1: _**_All law-abiding legal citizens over the age of eighteen must cast a vote during elections. These elections will determine judges, justices and any other judicial members. Elites will be chosen by the members of the oligarchy and not by the citizens._

**_Section 2: _**_Declining an individual to vote, except for those in a jail, prison or any other law-breaking circumstance, is not allowed. Any official doing this will be subject to the punishment._

**_Amendment 5 - The Judiciary Crime-Sentencing Amendment_**

_Passed: June 28, 2004; ratified: June 28, 2014; last modified June 18, 2026_

**_Section 1: _**_Anyone committing a capital crime against the Empire will be sentenced to death by any means. A capital crime is defined as murder, treason, terrorism or sexual crimes._

**_Section 2: _**_Committing a felony crime against the state will result in at least ten years of prison. Felony crimes include, but not limited to: threats, arson, trespassing, child abuse, animal abuse, domestic abuse, disobedience to the Empire, stealing, attempted murder, intended manslaughter, blasphemy or biased media against the Empire. Breaking any Amendments, except for this amendment and Section 2 of Amendment 2, will be considered a felony crime._

**_Section 3: _**_Anyone committing a misdemeanor will result in a maximum of seven years in prison, as well as a fine of 50 percent of a year's gross income. Misdemeanors include traffic violations, unintended manslaughter, drug abuse, discrimination, protests and riots._

**_Section 4: _**_Any group or individual who raises a gun or other deadly weapon against the Empire will be captured and put to death. The members of any cults, cliques or clans going against the teachings and operations of the Empire will also be put to death._

**_Section 5: _**_Due to this amendment being used to determine crimes committed, it cannot be repealed. However, more sections can be added in the future to modify this amendment. None of these Amendment sections, except for Section 4, can be broken by the non-judicial citizens, but any judges or justices not following the first three sections will lose their jobs and face a misdemeanor charge._

**_Section 6: _**_Any repeat breaker of the same law will receive a greater punishment, whether by a higher fee, longer jail sentences or even a death sentence._

**_Section 7 (Added June 18, 2026): _**_Amendment 7 is hereby considered a misdemeanor crime rather than a felony. Amendments 6, 8, 9 and 10 will still be considered felonies, and will be subject to the punishments listed in Section 2 of this amendment._

**_Amendment 6_**

_Passed: February 24, 2018; ratified: March 3, 2018_

**_Section 1: _**_All citizens above the age of twelve are required to be microchipped. Without a microchip, citizens will not have access to food, water, shelter or any basic needs. Microchips will be inserted into the right hand, in the skin between the index finger and the middle finger. Failure to adhere to this amendment by October 15, 2018, will result in jail time for up to ten years._

**_Section 2: _**_Stores and businesses are required to accept payments using the microchip scanner. The financial information of customers will be in the microchip itself; paper money and the vinyl cards of yore will be discontinued. Giving any product to a person not microchipped will result in a fine consisting of 50 percent of your gross yearly income._

**_Amendment 7_**

_Passed: April 8, 2020; ratified August 17, 2020._

**_Section 1: _**_All citizens above the age of twelve within the confinements of the Larimor Empire are required to be mind controlled by the Empire. The citizens will not think for themselves; the Empire will think for them. This will lower the rate of crimes committed against the Empire, as well as against other citizens. _

**_Section 2: _**_Just like the rule-breaking punishments listed in Amendment 5, Amendment 7 is the building block to the other amendments; If any other amendments are broken, then Amendment 7 is also broken. Due to this fact, the maximum punishment of seven years of prison is carried over from Amendment 7 to most other amendments._

**_Amendment 8_**

_Passed: May 7, 2021; ratified May 11, 2021_

_From now on, from the day this bill is passed until forever, all citizens within the confinements of Larimor will be drained of all uniqueness and individuality. Citizens must be of one body, of one mind and of one heart. Citizens caught breaking this amendment will be sentenced to ten years in prison on the first crime. The second punishment for this crime can be freely decided by a judge, jury or any judiciary member._

**_Amendment 9_**

_Passed: September 30, 2022; ratified October 31, 2022_

_Citizens who invent any machines, pharmaceuticals or potions must give the recipe or process to an Elite. Failure to do so can and will be considered a threat to Larimor._

**_Amendment 10_**

_Passed: January 3, 2024; ratified May 17, 2024_

_The Elites have the rights to monitor the citizens of Larimor through the Panel, the Bureau and the Storehouse, among other programs. Any citizen attempting to defy these three main programs, as well as any other Larimor-funded programs will end in consequences marked in Amendment 5 Section 2._

After the five characters read the discomforting amendments, they all look at each other in fear. Now only do they have to be in this time period to stop the evil take-over-the-world thing, but they have to abide by these rules! The last thing any of them want to do is to get microchipped, mind-controlled and conformed into this menacing society.

"Well guys..." Mario reluctantly stated as the line moves ahead. Now, the characters are in Toad's old house; less than ten people are in front of them. They all catch sight of the brain-controlling machine; it has an IV containing morphine or some other type of painkiller, as well as a drill. In the process, the IV needle goes into the elbow portion of the left inner arm, then a three minute wait for the medication to kick in. Usually, the operator shaves off a patch of hair around the top of the head during the wait, while other times the operator applies lube to the shaver's blade. After the wait, the operator turns on a drill, drills a hole into the patient's head, drops a little chip into the hole then patches it up with a sort of glue, "I guess we have to become like everyone else. We will have no more individuality, control or freedom or anything else."

Person after person goes through the process, and less than thirty minutes later, Mario finds himself sitting in the chair of the machine, wearing a frightened look on his face. For possibly the first time in his life, Mario starts to feel like he's the Two of Clubs in a Hearts game: he is useless, he is hopeless, and he will never win the battle against the better-played cards of Larimor. Mario feels that not even the Stars are on his side of the battle, but rather passively watching from the sidelines. Here he is, sitting in the chair where the Empire will insert a chip that will think for him. Not only that, but he will be conformed into the rest of society; he will have no uniqueness to offer the world. He won't have the qualities that make him Mario; only the qualities that will make him Mindless Larimor Worker #683947382 or something to that extent. During Mario's panicking thoughts, the operator rolls up Mario's left sleeve, hooks up the morphine into his arm and turns it on. As each second passes, Mario's panic slows down, and his thoughts are replaced with feelings of ecstasy the morphine is causing. Or rather, morphine and some type of stimulant mixed together; there's no way a regular dosage of a narcotic like morphine can have this much of a favorable effect.

However, before the operator can remove Mario's cap and perform the drilling process, a wall explodes. On the other side of the now-destroyed wall stands two strong, burly dragon-koopas holding futuristic guns with a similar design to those of the Larimor guards. While the gun's ammunition, in the form of beams, is shot out from a rounded head similar to that of a television satellite, the beams fired look as if they are a laser and a magic spell combined, yet the said beams are much more powerful.

"EAT POWER, LARIMOR FOOLS!" the shorter koopa shouted, shooting the drilling machine before it can drill into Mario's head. The shorter koopa then shoots at the shock collars and handcuffs of the five imprisoned characters. Meanwhile, the taller koopa is shooting the Larimor guards charging towards them, instantly evaporating the guards. Apparently the weapons the two koopas possess are much more powerful than the weapons of the Larimor guards, as the beams the guards shoot have almost no effect compared to the koopas' guns.

After a few seconds of the battle scene, all Larimor guards are evaporated, as well as any brainwashed Larimor citizens attempting to attack the koopas. All that is left of the guards and the possessed citizens are ashes; they've basically been cremated alive by the two strong koopas.

"Well, there's one mission done, of many," the shorter koopa announced, putting the gun into his shell and walks out of the wall's hole. The taller one nods, also exits out of the building and looks over at the five characters. Mario, now recovering from the medication, rips the IV out of his arm and uses his arms to hoist himself off the chair of the destroyed machine. Still having the effects of the drugs, the plumber wobbles towards the hole and studies the koopas.

The shorter koopa is about six feet tall, has an orange shell, rainbow hair with a ponytail and two Indian-like marks on the sides of his head. The taller koopa stands at least a foot taller than the shorter koopa; he has sightly more orange scales than the shorter koopa, a purplish-pink shell, a pink head and red sunglasses. These two koopas are the 2027 version of...

"LEMMY!" Iggy cried out in happiness as he runs up to the first koopa.

"IGGY!" Lemmy roared back.

The other characters step out of Toad's old house, with Ludwig walking up towards the second koopa. In height, Ludwig is at least three feet shorter than him.

"Nice to see you Roy... Both of my younger, now-older and taller siblings..."

"You too Ludwig, my older, now-younger and shorter sibling..." Roy replied back, "You and Iggs here are young enough to be my children now!"

_'Wow really?' _Ludwig questioned to himself, '_Roy is 42 and Lemmy is nearing 43, while I am stuck here at the age of near-nineteen.'_

"Time travel," Jabrael laughed, "It's a huge load of... Say, CONFUSING, but you'll get used to it."

"Yeah," Roy nodded. Unlike how he spoke 25 years ago, Roy seems to be more proper at saying his Th's, "Almost all of us missed you. After 2012 or so, of course, when that stupid evil spell wore off. We never worried about you guys though, because we knew you were stuck in the time stream rather than truly missing."

"You knew you were possessed? And you knew about the time stream?" Iggy questioned. Roy nods his head.

"Of course! Why else would I try to hang out with you, Iggs? All you do is boring stuff in your lab. Same with Wendy hanging out with you! And why would Lemmy avoid you? Whatever that evil was, it swapped our personality. According to a paper my Boss has, it's meant to be like that so typically nice people can take over the world. As you see, it doesn't do well on the more... bully types."

"That is the downside of bad," replied Jabrael, "Evil is not perfect; it will never be perfect. Good, however, is always perfect; there is never anything wrong with doing good. The only thing wrong with doing good is evil will never respect it, but remember: light always overpowers dark. Evil brings us pleasure, but doing good brings us true happiness. I noticed that over the thousands of years that I tried taking over the universe, I was never happy. But now that I've paid for the wrongs I committed, this truly is the happiest period of my entire existence. I just cannot believe that it took me millennia for me to get that through my head."

"And that's the joy King Dad felt over the past few years, as well as the rest of the Koopa Troop," Lemmy jumped in, "Except for the ones that defected and followed the evils of Larry and Morton. We all got to remember that evil caused the destruction of this town."

Iggy nodded his head, looking around at the scene for the first time since Roy annihilated every visible threat. Toad's old house is now barely standing, almost converting to ruins just like Peach's castle, Mario's house and multiple Main Street businesses. All the once-beautiful buildings that made Toad Town famous converted into rotten architectural carcasses decaying under the depressing greenish-black sky, "Now what? I'm guessing we don't stay here forever. We might get caught."

"Correct," Roy pulls out a remote and presses a button. Immediately, a dark green airship with a shape similar to a boomerang hovers over the characters. A hatch of the airship opens up and a column of green light surrounds the seven, causing them to be hoisted up by a mysterious force within the green light.

At first, the four characters not used to the year 2027 express looks and yelps of fear as they are lifted into the air, while Roy, Lemmy and Jabrael remain calm. Seeing as the light is doing more good than harm, the remaining four quiet their protests and start enjoying the hovering. They keep floating up in suspense until they enter the opening of the airship, in which the green light dies out. When all seven of them reach the ship in safety, the hatch closes and Roy takes charge of the ship.

* * *

"Guys! Guys!" a koopa troopa Panel member cried out to others as a surveillance video is playing, "We have intruders!"

Multiple koopa troopas, dragon-koopas and other baddies run up to the screen the original koopa troopa is sitting at. Seeing the whole Panel around him, the koopa troopa rewinds the surveillance video and presses PLAY. A video of the seven characters stepping out of Toad's wall is seen.

"Hey!" one of the dragon-koopas informed the Panel, "Those two dragon-koopas over there! They are on Larimor's Most Wanted list! They are Royale Koopa and Lemuel Koopa, older brothers of Emperor Larry Koopa and Emperor Morton Koopa. Our Emperors want them to be executed due to rebelling against the Empire."

"Whatever happened to their other family members like Gwendolyn Ocean Koopa, Ignatius Koopa, Ludwig von Koopa, Bowser Koopa Junior and Violent Jones?" a goomba questioned, "Ignatius and Ludwig von has been gone for decades, while Gwen, Bowser and Violent hasn't been spotted in days."

"I think Gwen and Violent are in a hideout, and I'm sure Lemuel and Royale are heading there," a boo stated to the rest of the Panel, "We need to find those two; they'll lead us straight to their hideout. We can then have the Elites invade their hideout, arrest all of them and execute them in public."

The rest of the Panel nod their heads, "Great idea! We'll send out insect drones and bird drones out there to look for Royale and Lemuel," the original koopa troopa smiled. He then presses a green button, which launches several "birds" and "insects" into the dark-green atmosphere.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Iggy questioned, looking around in the mysterious ship. The ship itself is luxurious; just like the doomships of 25 years ago, the living area of the ship has multiple flatscreen televisions, as well as blue carpeting unique from the doomship's red carpets. The curved ceiling also makes the area feels as if it is a cavern, also different from the typical box-shaped rooms of the doomships.

Roy is sitting down in a chair, both of his hands on the airship's yoke to control the ship. His vision seems to be focused mainly on the airplane's colossal windshield, with several lightning bolts from the dark green cloud dancing in front of him outside. In front of the Koopa is a variety of buttons on the Control Panel, both flashing and press able, ranging from blue to yellow to red. Lemmy, Jabrael, Mario, Luigi, Ludwig and Iggy attempt to be as comfortable as they can manage, although they all seem to be worried about being caught by the government of Larimor.

"We are going to our base," Roy replied. Iggy shrugs and begins looking out the window; several ruins lay below them. Once majestic, awe-inspiring colorful buildings now succumb to the depressing atmosphere caused by the dark green sky. The ruins, once boasting several rich citizens of the then Mushroom Kingdom, now only boasts rats, dirt and dust mites of the now Larimor Empire. In fact, the ruins are so terrible, even gang members seem to avoid the mess; the walls, besides splashes of mud and possibly even blood, are graffiti-free.

"What city did this used to be?" questioned Iggy. Whatever city this used to be must have been a dream resort for the Mushroom Kingdom's Top One Percent, and Iggy wants to know incase he can eventually go back to 2002.

"That is the ruins of Paradise City, of the old kingdom of Pipe Land. When the Larimor Empire took over the area in 2005, they destroyed the area due to several protesters making a living here. Now, more than twenty years later, the ruins of Paradise City testifies to all of us that no one should defy the Empire. However, the fates of that city, as well as Toad Town, Metallic City and the whole kingdom of Desert Land, will not stop us," Roy explained.

At the mentioning of his city being destroyed, Ludwig lets out a cry of horror, "VHAT?! Metallic City is _destroyed?"_

"Oh yes Ludwig," Lemmy shook his head, "It was ugly. The destruction of Desert Land was ugly also; the Larimor Empire used machines to launch fire all over the city. Residents there had to flee or literally get burned alive-"

"AHH!" Iggy screamed, covering his ear area with his hands, "Stop it! Stop it! I don't wanna hear this anymore!"

"Point is, Iggy," Lemmy continued, seeming to take a tangent to the horrific description, "The entrance to our secret base is in Desert Land. It's a good thing that Desert Land is destroyed because Larimor officials won't find us there."

"Vell, zat makes sense. Vouldn't vant to put an entrance in an area populated vith Larimorians. Vait, how did ze Larimor Empire take over everyzing?"

"We'll explain when we get to the base. Our Boss will explain it better."

"And who is your boss, Lemmy?"

After Ludwig's statement, a beeping sound is heard, followed by an announcement by the airship.

"URGENT MESSAGE! CODE RED! PLEASE ANSWER! URGENT MESSAGE! CODE RED!"

Roy presses a yellow button on the right side of the control panel. After pushing the button, a hologram of a magikoopa pops up in the middle of the room. The magikoopa generally looks to be the younger version of Kamek, with blue robes, brownish hair leaking out of his magic hat and glasses similar to Iggy's. All characters, save for Roy, look at the hologram in front of them.

"Well, here's our Boss," Lemmy spoke up.

Iggy stares at the hologram for a few seconds before speaking up, "Kaleb?"

"Iggy! Long time no see! Glad you, Ludwig and the Mario Brothers there made it out of the time stream okay! You should do more Magikoopa training; you're nearly a Rank 5!"

"Yes, it is great that they did, and we'll worry about Magikoopa ranks later. Now they can help us with our cause. So Kaleb, what's the issue?" questioned Lemmy, getting the magikoopa back on topic.

"Lemuel! Royale!" the magikoopa shouted at the two. Although nobody can see him doing it, Roy rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

"Dang it Kaleb! Call me Roy! I hate that name!"

"Sorry Sir," Kaleb the magikoopa apologized before coninuing on with his message, "Our satellites in space have picked up tremendous activity of radio waves and microwaves. You guys have to be careful! Come back to the base immediately; the Panel may be looking for you guys!"

"Roger," Lemmy replied, "We'll be there immediately! Anything else Kaleb?"

"That will be it, Sir. I expect you two to be at the base in less than ten minutes! I don't know what the Panel is planning, but it will not be pretty! Kaleb out!"

The hologram stretches out vertically, then horizontally before disappearing in thin air. Both Lemmy and Roy seem to be concerned at the newly-learned news.

"Okay! We really need to get to the hideout quick Roy!" Lemmy freaked out totally. Roy did a thumbs up signal to Lemmy before blasting off even faster into the distance. The sudden acceleration causes a bit of inertia in the characters, causing each of the six to be completely glued to their seats for a few seconds. After the brief inertia situation, Mario turns to Lemmy and asks a question.

"Just wondering... What are the Magikoopa ranks? And what is 'The Panel'?"

"Kaleb can explain Magikoopa ranks better than I can; you can ask him when we get to the base. The Panel, though, is one of many group of Elites. The main job of the Panel is to monitor the citizens via surveillance programs. Other important Elite groups include the Bureau, which controls the thoughts of the citizens, and the Storehouse, which controls the inflow and outflow of food, water and other necessities within the Empire. The Bureau is directly monitored by our two siblings while an Elite controls the Panel and Storehouse."

"They do that so the Elites will stay in power over Larimor," Jabrael added, "The Larimor Empire is different from other evil empires in the past, including my Empire back in the Eleventh Age. The difference is that the Larimor Empire uses teamwork among other villains to conquer the world. I only used myself; I set up a fascist government that put only me and a few others in power."

"And they say that teamwork is the best tool to use," concluded Roy, still staring out of the aircraft's windshield, "We all grew up thinking that was false, except for Mario and Luigi of course. However, the Larimor Empire proved that statement to be correct."

"And the only way we can win is to use teamwork?" Luigi questioned in curiosity. Roy nods his head.

"You betcha. Hey, we're in Desert Land!"

At the mentioning of the Land's name, Ludwig jolts out of his seat and dashes over towards the window on the aircraft's starboard. Below him rests several ruins; a site not uncommon, but still heart-wrenching as acre after acre of debris and destruction passes under them. Once furbish churches are desecrated, awe-inspiring skyscrapers are smashed to the ground and different styles of houses are destroyed, surrounded by ashes from the supposed fire bombings years ago. Grimacing at the grisly ground, Ludwig moves away from the window, making his way to his seat as the aircraft begins to lower towards the ground.

"We're landing already?" Luigi questioned. Without answering, Roy pilots the ship onto a bit of bare ground, located by a fast food joint that is still standing somehow. As the ship enters the drive-thru, Lemmy opens the emergency window on the ship's port side and prepares to order at the drive-thru. "There's still drive-thru's in 2027? I was hoping for food teleportation by then! Or food generation!"

"They are an advanced society, Luigi," Lemmy replied, "But mainly in war. The last thing they will focus on is automatically delivering food when drive-thrus are a quick enough alternative."

After the little explanation, the drive-thru attendant rings on on the drive-thru machine. The attendant's voice sounds like a young, innocent female.

"Hello, welcome to Ruin's Best! How may I help you?"

"Hello Kamira. Can I have 13 platters of chicken strips, 18 hamburgers, 12 hotdogs, 17 slices of The Works pizza and 5 bottles of vodka?" Lemmy questioned.

"Okay, so you wanted 13 platters of chicken strips, 18 hamburgers, 12 hotdogs, 17 slices of The Works pizza and 5 bottles of vodka. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Thanks a lot for entering the code, Lemuel Koopa! I have opened up the portal! Have a nice day and don't be captured by Larimor!" the woman greeted.

"Thank you, Kamira!"

"Just wondering Lemuel: do you really want that food? Or were you just entering the code?"

"Just entering the code, Kamira. Maybe next time. Enjoy Larimor!" the Koopaling declined.

Lemmy pulls out five pairs of colored-rim shades similar to Roy's, as well as clip-on lenses for Iggy, from a compartment under his seat: one red, one green, one blue, one violet and one brown. He hands the red ones to Mario, the green to Luigi, the violet pair to Jabrael and the brown ones to Ludwig. Lemmy keeps the blue pair for himself, puts the shades on and hands the lenses over to his used-to-be inseparable twin.

"Put these on; they will protect you. The shades allow you to see the portal, as well as the intermission between the start and the finish. If you don't wear the shades… Well, migraines and motion sickness can happen due to bright, wavy lights. We don't want that."

With the rest of the characters, Ludwig puts his shades on. Now directing his shades-covering face towards the bow of the ship, the poofy-haired Koopaling spots a huge, pulsing purple portal dancing in front of him. Despite a bit of fear in his head, as well as expressions of fear on the faces of Mario, Luigi and Iggy, Roy continues to drive towards it.

As the ship's bow makes its way into the portal, the portal pulses at an even greater frequency. Fascinated with the mysteries of portals, Ludwig jumps out of his seat and stares out of the same window on the ship's starboard. Rather than seeing destruction of Desert Land, the eldest Koopaling feels as if he's in a plasma ball; an endless, violet void saturated with loose electrons flying everywhere, the minuscule particles leaving streaks of electricity to flicker and dance around the amazing sight.

Lemmy, seeing Ludwig standing by the window, gives him a word of advice. "Make sure to sit down. You will feel a pressure difference right…"

The ship suddenly shifts in its pressure; it feels as if pressure is dramatically increased, causing the ears of each character to 'pop'. The pressure feels as if the group is at a depth of seven feet in a body of water.

"Now."

Ludwig looks over at Lemmy, nods his head, then looks out of the window again. This time, the ship is in a dark, metallic-like area. In this area, similar to a subway station, the airship lands on the ground and cruises through the tunnel, "So zis is your base?" the curious Koopaling questioned, "Vhere is zis? How come it hasn't blown up like ze other rebel places?"

"Because," Lemmy starts to explain, "We are on a different planet."

_'Different planet?' _The four characters not used to this time period questioned to themselves, _'Is this time period that advanced?'_

There is a sudden light at the end of the tunnel, swiftly approaching the airship as it rolls on the metallic ground of the enlarged, immense tunnel. A few seconds later, the ship makes it out of the tunnel, still rolling on the ground. Curious, the four characters look out the two windows on both the starboard and port sides: unlike their old home, this area has several buildings and skyscrapers still standing. In fact, the buildings seem to be undamaged and newly renovated. Beautiful gardens are located at the top of each building, the ground is bare with reddish-brown sand the sky is actually a dark blue, a near-violet color.

"Oh my gosh! This is like a utopia! Even Toad Town 25 years ago doesn't stack up to be as beautiful as this place!"

Lemmy nods his head with a smile on his face, "Welcome to our base: the planet of Madoso, the new home of the major kingdoms of the Mushroom World."

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I know some other questions have been left unanswered (probably). Next chapter will also be a bit more explanatory and possibly Chapter 7 too, but it should be ending by Chapter 8.**

**Also, I will be updating the first story, _Calm Before the Storm. _Do not worry, I am just editing things; no major plot changes, or even minor ones, will be added or changed in the story.**


	6. The Base

**A/N: In case some of you don't know, I will be busy from now on until June or so, so updates won't be as common. I'll post a chapter maybe once a month, maybe more, but maybe less. I'm not going to make any final promises on anything, however. Whenever I do update, it will most likely be on a weekend.**

* * *

**Chapter VI**

* * *

Time: Sometime in 2027 on the Planet Madoso

Luigi looks out of the window as the airship comes to a halt; Madoso is simply amazing! Dark red sand pollutes the area, much like the planet Mars! The skies of Madoso, however, produces a dark-blue covering over the planet, rather than a thin, transparent carbon dioxide atmosphere of Earth's second closest non-satellite planet.

The airship screeches to a halt. In front of the airship stands seven huge reddish-black towers; its outer walls consist entirely of one-way mirrors, as well as two-story hallways connected between each of the seven buildings. The tallest tower, about twenty stories high, stands in the center of the complex while six smaller, about ten-story towers surround the tallest tower, the outer towers creating a hexagonal shape around the tall building. The top of each tower has a huge, mysterious pole with a round, yet spiral tip; much like a sort of lollipop. _'Water distillers,'_ Ludwig thought to himself, _'This was in testing with E. Gadd and me. Makes sense, I guess, since this is a desert area.'_

Roy nods his head, presses a yellow button, and the door to the outside opens. Rather than having a column of green light deduct them from the ship, the seven characters will have to walk down a flight of six stairs.

Lemmy is the first one to walk down the stairs, shouting to the others as he points to the seven-building complex.

"Well... We're at our base. This is it!"

Roy follows Lemmy down the stairs, and the other five characters follow suit. When Mario walks off the last step, with Roy closing the hatch after, the red plumber is smacked by the sudden heat. The heat on Madoso, mixed in with the semi-humid air, creates weather that is so hot, it makes Earth's Libya feel like Siberia. Not used to this extreme heat, both Mario and Luigi cry out.

"Oh my gosh! It's hot out here!"

"And humid!" Luigi added to his brother's complaint. Lemmy and Roy nodded.

"Madoso's always like that in the summer, especially in this region. Don't worry though; it gets misty or even rainy nearly every night, so nighttimes are actually really cold here. I mean, it's not Ice Land, but it's great for a desert planet, y'know. Just you wait until winter; it actually gets cold here!" Lemmy explained. Mario rubs his chin as the Koopaling explained the nightly phenomena.

"Well, whatever. Let's get in before I melt like the Wicked Witch of the West."

The group walks up towards one of the buildings, where a hand scanner is present. Lemmy steps up to the scanner and puts his right hand on it; the pad slowly scans his hand. An automated message saying 'handprint accepted!' follows the gesture.

The door opens up, and Mario, Luigi, Ludwig and Iggy stand in awe at the sight; in the building, several yoshi paintings are plastered on the walls not containing the one-way mirrors, with the amazing paintings covering every bit of white space from floor to ceiling. The floor seems to be made of metallic materials by both the look of the reflective floor and the _clonking _sound when walked on. A silver reception desk is shoved in the corner just to the right of the door, with a pink yoshi sitting behind it, reading a book consisting of holograms rather than paper. As Lemmy and Roy approaches the desk, the yoshi turns off the hologram book and smiles at the group. Before the yoshi can utter any noise, Roy speaks first.

"Yo Miranda. We need the door to the Magikoopa Tower opened."

"Lemmy and Roy, right?" Miranda questioned, "I will open the door to the Magikoopa Tower for you right away. The entrance to the Magikoopa Tower will be straight ahead. Of course, if you want, the Fungi Tower will be the hallway to your left while the Bandit Tower will be on your right. And who are your friends with you?"

"Well," Roy introduced the other characters by pointing at them, saying their names as he moves one by one, "This is Iggy, Ludwig, Mario and Luigi. Iggy and Ludwig are my siblings and the plumbers there used to be my archenemies. You should know Jabrael also; she used to be one of our worst enemies until recently."

Miranda rubs her chin, a frequent gesture within the Yoshi species to represent thought, confusion or even boredom, "I remember Mario and Luigi; they saved Dinosaur Land when you guys took it over. I lived in the Forest of Illusion during the time you conquered it, Roy."

"Uh huh," Roy confirmed, "Back in the good ol' days when all my siblings and I were actually a team."

"And now you're gonna fight two of them. I feel bad for hearing that, Roy; I just can't imagine how you are taking it!" the pink yoshi consoled, "I wish they turned good."

"Oh boy," Roy muttered back in a sad voice, "I wish they did too... I wouldn't have to fight them if they did. But yeah... We have to do what we got to do. I guess we should be off to the Magikoopa Tower. Peace out, and thanks for opening the hallway."

* * *

Meanwhile, back on Larimor, the Panel is having no such luck picking up any wanted fugitive. A female boo floats into the private office cubicle of the koopa troopa—the same koopa troopa who informed the whole panel about the two Koopalings—and reports some unfortunate news to him.

"Sir, the birds and insects are broadcasting that, so far, no sight of Royale or Lemuel are picked up."

The koopa troopa seems to be a bit irked about the news, but rather than taking the frustration out on the boo, the koopa troopa presses a button. There, a hologram of a blue-shelled boomerang brother pops up. Seeing the hologram, the boo leaves the room in haste and closes the door behind her.

"What is your news, Xavier?" the boomerang brother questioned the red-shelled koopa troopa, "Is the Panel doing well?"

"Unfortunately not, Sonny..." the koopa troopa shook his head, "We have unfortunate news to report."

"Unfortunate news? Does it have anything to do with the Bureau? I am having a meeting with my fellow bureaucrats about what we should do with the citizens next, and I am running late."

Xavier nods his head in acceptance at Sonny's words, but almost immediately holds up his index finger.

"I understand totally, Sonny. Just hang on for a moment please. What about Larry and Morton? Will they be there?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm so worried. I could l-lose my job as the h-head of the Bureau, behind the Emperors of course," Sonny replied, trembling a bit as he spoke.

"Sorry, Sonny. So so sorry. I won't be long; in fact, I will be quite brief."

Waving his hand in a circle, signaling Xavier to be faster, Sonny replies, "Go on."

"The Panel has spotted Royale Koopa and Lemuel Koopa. We tried following them to their hideout, where Gwendolyn Ocean Koopa, Bowser Koopa Junior, Violent Jones and possibly even Peach Toadstool, Daisy Sarasaflora and Bowser Koopa Senior may be."

"Peach, Daisy and Bowser? They haven't been heard of for years!"

Xavier nods his head, "That's why we need to find Royale and Lemuel; they may lead us to **_them _**also."

Sonny, noticing the special emphasis on the word _them_, grins, "Revenge will be so sweet. So sweet to see **_them_** suffer after all those years of **_them_** making us suffer. However, the Panel is in charge of spying—"

"YEAH BUT WE LOST THEM!"

Xavier's shouting results in him feeling as if he's a complete disgrace to the empire of Larimor. What will his emperors think of him when they hear the news? Will they forgive him, or will he potentially be executed? They may be evil, but Xavier himself couldn't see the latter happening for a simple mistake; he could, at the very least, lose his job. It's Roy and Lemmy, after all, two of the most dangerous felons of Larimor.

After his initial shock of hearing Xavier scream at him, Sonny looks at the distressed koopa troopa. The boomerang brother sighs before commenting, "Okay okay Xavier. I have a better idea: rather than the Panel do all the work, I will have my bureaucrats force the citizens to get them for us. Less work for us, more work for our brain-controlled citizens and a 'hoard of treasure' for the Empire!"

Following Sonny's explanation, Xavier ponders over the plan in general. Yes, the Panel will get more glory if the rebels are sighted, but the Bureau will get the credit when the citizens grab them. '_Either way_,' he thought, '_Royale and Lemmy_ _are dangerous, and so are the other rebels in their little hideout. That includes _**_them. _**_If I sit here declining the involvement of the Bureau, there will not be a Larimor Empire to give credit to the Panel any longer, and _**_they_**_ will do nothing but make my life terrible, as usual.'_

"Yes, Sonny," the koopa troopa reluctantly squeaked, "That'll be the best thing we can do for now."

"Glad you think so, Xavier," the boomerang brother nodded, "Now I have a meeting to attend. Sonny OUT."

The hologram stretches vertically, then horizontally before disappearing, leaving Xavier alone in his office to wonder...

_Is getting revenge really worth it?_

* * *

After communicating with the pink yoshi, the group enters into the hallway leading to the Magikoopa Tower. The hallway is relatively uninteresting; nothing but the one-way mirrors making up the walls, as well as handrails and the clonking metallic floor, are present.

"So," Ludwig started, "Vhy is zis complex so... Complex?"

Lemmy answers the genius's question, "Think about it, Ludwig. Several leaders and workers of the kingdoms on Plit were driven out by Larimor: most of them came here. Some scattered all over Madoso, while others went to Atroba, but the rest settled in this area."

"And vhy is zat?"

"So they all can be united, as a team, to attempt to defeat Larimor. As you see, it hasn't happened."

"Vell... Okay..."

The group reaches the end of the relatively short hallway, and steps into a tower. This time, this story of the tower has no one-way mirrors; in fact, it has no windows at all. Artificial greenish-white, purplish-white and bluish-white lights illuminate the room, broadcasting a floating hologram with the news playing on it and a blue-robed figure resting on a cerulean couch.

"Yo Kaleb. Ludwig and Iggy are here, as well as Mario, Luigi and Jabrael."

Hearing the words of Roy, the blue-robed figure looks back, smiles and jumps over the back of the couch. As Kaleb walks over towards the group, Mario, Luigi, Jabrael and the Koopalings can tell that, compared to the sizes of Roy and Lemmy, Kaleb is short, standing at a mere four-and-a-half feet or so.

"It's the nice Jabrael, right? Not the evil one?"

"Yes," the woman replied, "I am the nice Jabrael."

"Nice to know! Greetings, Mario, Luigi, Jabrael and Ludwig. Greetings to you also, Iggy; it has been many moons since I last seen you."

"Yeah Kaleb. I see so much has changed in two decades?"

"Yep. I remember the days when I was a mere Rank 1 magikoopa with you Iggy... When you decided to go to bootcamp during the summer between your Freshman and Sophomore years of high school... Both you and I were in the same group at bootcamp, and you perfected that one magic trick before any of us can."

Iggy nodded; he remembers those days easily, since it only occurred about two years ago, yet 27 years ago for Kaleb. While Iggy nods his head, Mario opens his mouth to inquire of something.

"I've been hearing so much about these Magikoopa rank things. What are they?"

"Magikoopa ranks are simply a ranking system used to express how much experience a koopa has in magic. There are thirteen ranks in total."

"What are they?" Luigi repeated Mario's question. The green plumber is as curious as his brother on this issue, as well as other... 2027 stuff.

That is when Kaleb points to the couch before heading over to it himself, "Take a seat. It can take awhile to explain. Oh, and before you say, this ranking system is hundreds of years old. It's not just post-2002 stuff."

The seven characters follow Kaleb's lead: walking up to the blue couch and plopping down on it.

"Before I start, I want to explain the color of robes."

"Robe color?" Mario inquired, "That is important?"

"Yes. Robe color signifies the area of magic you are training. There are six robe colors used in the ranking system: white, red, green, gray, purple and blue. I will explain the significance of the robe colors as I explain the ranks.

"Also, promotions. Promotions occur yearly, during the month of December in Plit's terms, right before the New Year. There, every December, the students of one of the many magikoopa classes, each class typically consisting of 20 magikoopas, will have a competition against every other individual in that same class. The two best performers, or the top 10 percent, in each class will be promoted while the other 18 stay their same rank. But, oh, trust me; there's much more factors that determine promotion. That was just a watered-down explanation on how it's done.

"Now we are on the explanation of ranks. Rank 1 Magikoopas, or what should be known as Rank 1 Koopas, are simply average koopas. They possess little to no magical ability, so because of this, Rank 1 Koopas do not receive a color-coded robe. When Rank 1 Koopas enroll to become a magikoopa, they take a 3-month boot camp course consisting of magic tricks. When these tricks are mastered, and the course is finished, they become a Rank 2 Magikoopa."

"You mean any koopa can become a magikoopa?" Luigi questioned, "I thought magikoopas are a specific species of Koopa."

"Yes and no," Kaleb answered, "Magikoopas can be a term used to describe a koopa whose rank is Rank 2 or higher. That means any Koopa can become a magikoopa, such as Iggy here who joined quite awhile ago. As for the species question, there is a specific species of Koopa that is naturally better at magic than the others, just like dragon-koopas are naturally able to breathe out fire better than others. However, over the years, those on Plit just referred to us as magikoopas, since almost all of us end up joining the magikoopa system. Kamek himself called us Toadies, but then again, that went on to describe his minions. That leaves us with no specific name, really, but we still refer to ourselves as the Magikoopa species."

"Oh, okay," Luigi nodded, "That makes more sense now. I guess."

"And just because our species is naturally better at magic, does not mean we do not have to train, nor does it mean that other species cannot do magic. Magikoopas have to train as hard as others to keep and extend their magical abilities. Anyway, let's get to what happens after the bootcamp.

"When a koopa passes the bootcamp course, they are issued a white magikoopa robe, as well as a promotion to a Rank 2 Magikoopa. White magikoopas will learn how to perform HEALING with magic. In a class of 20, the two best performers, or the top ten percent in any other size of class, will be promoted to Rank 3. Rank 3's are the leaders of their white magikoopa class; there are four of them for every 20 Rank 2's. They are responsible in training the Rank 2's to be successful, as well for the 2's to advance ranks. When a promotion period comes around, the two out of the four Rank 3's who are the best teachers will be advanced to Rank 4, and the two most successful 2's will fill in their position as 3's.

"When a Rank 3 gets promoted to a Rank 4, they are given a red robe, and they are shoved in another class, also consisting of 20 magikoopas, to learn how to increase POWER. Just like the Rank 2-3 relationship, four Rank 5's teach the Rank 4's how to master this type of magic.

"Newly-promoted Rank 6's then get green robes, and they learn how to build up DEFENSE. Just like the other classes, 4 Rank 7's teach 20 Rank 6's on mastering this skill.

"Now, at this point, the rank system is like clockwork. Unsurprisingly, Rank 8's receive gray magikoopa robes, and they practice even more defense training: Defense shields. These shields can give full protection for a limited amount of time. Rank 9's, once again, teach Rank 8's to perfect the skill.

"Here is where things get interesting: Unlike the first eight ranks, Rank 9's must have the written permission of both a Rank 12 and a Rank 13 before advancing to a Rank 10. That is because Rank 10's, the ones with purple robes, learn to break the Laws of Physics, as well as other scientific laws and theories, such as levitation, telekinesis and other bizarre magic. If a magikoopa is not mentally stable, nor a professional at magic, this type of magic can overtake them and potentially corrupt them with undesirable evil. Thus, for safety reasons, they cannot be advanced to a Rank 10 without permission. For those who pass, however, they are taught by Rank 11's."

While the Koopas and plumbers seem to be surprised at this announcement, Jabrael bobs her head in agreement.

"What he says is true," the witch-queen informed the group, "That type of magic is called Black Magic. Black Magic, if uncontrolled, can cause serious problems physically and/or mentally."

"Indeed. That is why I only want mentally stable magikoopas who can handle such magic to take part in that," Kaleb confirmed, "Anyway... Where was I?"

"You vere about to explain Rank 12."

"Right, Ludwig. Umm... Unlike the first 11 ranks, Rank 12's are not students, but rather part of the magikoopa elites, and they wear blue robes to show that. Rank 12's are responsible for monitoring classes to make sure improvement is happening, as well as the behaviors of both teachers and students. Because of all this observation, as well as burdening paperwork, Rank 12's are usually the hardest-working magikoopas in the whole system.

"Lastly, we have the Rank 13's; their duty is to lead. Rank 13's also manage the pool of Rank 12 elites, so all-in-all, the work of a Rank 13 is much easier than that of a Rank 12. Rank 13 is the rarest rank; only 3 magikoopas at any time are Rank 13's, and I am one of them. One benefit of being a Rank 13 is that Rank 13 magikoopas can wear whatever robes they want in the army. This is why, during your time, Kammy and Kamella always wore purple robes while Kamek just stuck with blue. All three of them were Rank 13's before the Larimor issue popped up."

While the others nod at the explanation, the ever-so-careful Ludwig asks a question, "Okay. If Rank 12's are in charge of promotion, do they vote for Rank 13's?"

"Yes. They vote from a pool of the longest serving Rank 12 magikoopas, since promotions occur in the same month. The longest serving Rank 12 magikoopas, not the longest serving in the magikoopa system itself. This only happens when a Rank 13 either retires or dies; even a missing Rank 13 will not be replaced unless it has been over a year with no known contact," Kaleb explained in the best way he can. The magikoopa then continues on, "But just in case you didn't get that explanation," Kaleb concluded, "Let me make it a list."

Kaleb summons a hologram in front of the characters, between the couch and the hologramic television. On the hologram is a list of the ranks:

**BEGINNER RANKS:**

**Rank 1: **They go to a sort of boot camp to learn card tricks, etc. After 3 months of training, they get promoted to Rank 2.

**Rank 2: **They become White Magikoopas, who learn how to heal.

**Rank 3: **White Magikoopa leader (1 for every 5 Magikoopas)

**INTERMEDIATE RANKS:**

**Rank 4: **Red Magikoopa, who learn how to increase power.

**Rank 5: **Red Magikoopa leader (1 for every 5 Magikoopas)

**Rank 6: **Green Magikoopa, who learn how to increase defense.

**Rank 7: **Green Magikoopa leader (1 for every 5 Magikoopas)

**Rank 8: **Gray Magikoopa; they learn how to make someone invincible for a short time.

**Rank 9: **Gray Magikoopa leader (1 for every 5 Magikoopas)

**Advanced Ranks**

**Rank 10: **Purple Magikoopa, who learn scientific law-breaking magic.

**Rank 11: **Purple Magikoopa leader (1 for every 5 Magikoopas)

**Leaders:**

**Rank 12: **Blue Magikoopa (1 for every 5 Magikoopa leaders)

**Generals:**

**Rank 13: **Magikoopa leader (Top 3 magikoopas)

The characters read down the list, nodding their heads as they do so.

"I doubt that has anything to do with why we're here," Iggy started, sitting up from his position on the couch, "But it is cool information."

"You can always use information to your advantage. Never forget that, Ignatius."

Iggy ponders over Kaleb's phrase. How will learning about the cogs and gears of the Magikoopa's ranking system any benefit to them? Is he completely out of his mind, or may it be much, much more useful than he thought? Either way, it won't hurt to use this information to an advantage.

Shrugging it off, Iggy then stands up and turns towards Kaleb, this time asking a different question.

"Can you show me anyone else who happen to be here?"

Kaleb grins, nodding his head as he hoists himself off the couch. Mario, Luigi, Ludwig, Jabrael, Roy and Lemmy follow his lead. Still smiling, Kaleb answers.

"I never thought you would ask. Here, let me show you everyone else who is here."


End file.
